Puppy fear

Some parents are ready to give up the idea of ​​a dog just because the child is afraid of it. But communication with animals is extremely important and useful for a child, and making friends with them is not so difficult.

Recently a married couple approached me - their daughter Nastya was very afraid of dogs. When I met them on the street, I hid behind my mother and could cry. I recommended taking home a Labrador puppy - this is a cheerful and kind dog that loves children. But first, on my advice, the parents went to the pet store with their child to buy toys, collars and leashes for the future puppy. Nastya really liked this idea, because the dog toys are very colorful and funny, especially since she chose them herself. Every day, the parents told little Nastya about how she would play and walk with the puppy, and read her stories about the friendship of dogs and people. And of course, they showed good cartoons and movies. So the girl began to understand that the dog was not such a terrible beast. Nastya was looking forward to the puppy coming home. The meeting was held at the highest level: the puppy rushed to the girl and began to lick her hands and face. Now they are inseparable friends, and Nastya no longer cries when she meets dogs on the street.
There was another case in my practice - a dog was afraid of a person. Mom and dad bought a Yorkie puppy as a gift for their son. He immediately found a common language with adults, but he began to avoid the boy - he ran away from him, hid. Most likely he was frightened by the child's noisy games or sudden and careless movements. And one day, when the boy forcibly took the puppy out from under the table, the Yorkie bit him - so they finally turned into enemies. My parents and I developed a reconciliation plan. The puppy began to receive food not from a bowl, but only from the hand of its little owner. Thus he learned to trust him. At first, the boy fed the puppy with a glove on, in case it decided to bite him. But very soon he took it off. A few more days passed, and the child began to lightly stroke the puppy's fur. We explained to him that you cannot force a dog to communicate - pick him up or stroke him - if he does not ask for affection. And that you need to immediately stop playing with the dog if she gets tired of it and wants to leave. Only a week passed, and the Yorkie stopped hiding from the child and began to approach him himself so that he could pet him and treat him with food. They began to play together and soon became inseparable friends.